Growth time!

I think May counts as Late Spring, and Late Spring is when perennial plants put on lots of new growth. In this post I want to show you how this is happening in my garden.

This is the first thing I want to show off - Rhubarb. Last Autumn I moved my Rhubarb crowns into a big tub, which I filled with lots of rich composted stable manure. The plants have loved this, and have responded by putting up some enormous leaves:

I'm almost regretting my decision to refrain from picking any Rhubarb this year (letting the plants settle-in and regain their strength). They just keep putting up new leaves:

The Dogwoods which I pruned so severely a few weeks ago are responding well too - lots of fresh young shoots on all the plants, such as this Cornus Alba "Aureum".

And on this  Cornus Sericea "Cardinal"

Last year my Clematis produced a grand total of three flowers. I didn't prune it, and this year it has done much better. I know that you need to treat the various types of Clematis differently, but I don't know what type this one is (it was an un-named "freebie" from a magazine). Presumably it is one that doesn't like pruning!

My Blueberry bushes got a hard pruning last year, having become very straggly. They too are now putting on lots of new growth - which is of course what you expect when you prune hard. I don't think I will get much fruit this year, and the beneficial effects will only be felt next year. However, there will definitely be some berries:

My little patch of ferns is looking good too. I have five plants now. Every Autumn I cut off all the dead fronds, and every Spring a new lot grows back.

This one has made a circular "crown of fronds":

Look at the difference in this Purple Sage plant. This is it on March 7th (after severe pruning, you'll notice)

And this is the same plant on 20th May:

A big difference, I think you'll agree!  With June beginning next week, I'm hopeful that we will soon see the advent of some proper "Summer" weather, and then the plants should really take off.